Devotionals

Fasting places no obligation upon the sovereign God to respond in a way we have asked. Yet He does take special delight in us when we show our helplessness in fasting, and He will respond by giving us a greater ...Read More

In his Institutes, John Calvin notes that prayer is more for our benefit than it is for God’s (3.20.3). While we can hold to the truth that there are some things that God will not do unless we ask Him ...Read More

Even our Savior used both induction and deduction in His ministry. For example, when arguing with the Sadducees about the resurrection (Matt. 22:23–33), He considered the evidence from the text inductively and then deduced a conclusion from it. To interpret ...Read More

Human traditions, including the church’s reflection on the Word of God, can be helpful. However, they must never be elevated to the status of divine revelation. When that happens, we become ensnared in legalism and cannot be reformed by Scripture. ...Read More

The women went to the tomb while not expecting anything out of the ordinary. Often, we also go about our days the same way. Yet, as we serve a God who loves to delight us by surprising us with good ...Read More

Roman Catholics and Protestants differ on several fundamental matters, not the least of which is the doctrine of justification. It is essential that we do not blur the lines on this issue, for the very gospel is at stake. We, ...Read More

Spurgeon writes, “The remembrance of sin committed is the Holy Spirit’s frequent, if not constant method of bringing men to weep over their wrong-doing and to turn from it.” It is good for us to think on our sin, for ...Read More

The law against showing partiality to the wealthy shows up first in Leviticus 19 (v. 15), the same chapter where we read that we must love our neighbors as ourselves (v. 18). Thus, we can see that treating all of ...Read More

In our justification, God has declared us righteous in Christ through His blood. In our sanctification, God is working to make us righteous in what we do, say, think, and feel. As the Lord’s holy priesthood, we can be sure ...Read More

As John Chrysostom preached, Reuben shows us that “no advantage comes to us from natural advantage unless accompanied by good deeds of free will” (Homilies on Genesis, 67.5). We cannot expect to escape God’s discipline when we transgress His will. ...Read More